The move into the third dimension had been experimented with in cinemas long before Jason picked up that hockey mask. The 1950โs was the golden age of this technology with Andre de Tothโs House of Wax (1953) heralding a wave of, mostly, horror films to the 3D screen. William Castle, long an exponent of the…
As a fan of horror, comedy, musicals, and any combination thereofโฆis it any surprise to anyone that I love Scooby-Doo? The answer should be as obvious as my orange shirt as I interview Neil Fanning: the actor, writer, producer, stunt performer, stunt safety supervisor, voice actor, and more who starred in Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo…
“What’s your favorite scary movie?” It’s maybe the most famous opening line in horror history, and I’d somehow never actually watched the movie it came from. I know, I know, how does someone who loves movies avoid SCREAM for this long? The Ghostface mask is everywhere, from Spirit Halloween stores to Reddit memes, and I’ve…
By 1964, Hammer Films stood at a crossroads. The great Gothic cathedral they had builtโof blood, faith, and moral dreadโwas showing its cracks. Dracula and Frankenstein had already carved their myths deep into British cinematic history, terrifying and scandalizing audiences across the globe. Yet the hunger for more persisted. The world demanded another resurrection, another…
The screen transitions from darkness to a nighttime suburban street. A little girl named Jessie sings โIncy Wincy Spiderโ, one foot in the flooded gutter, the other on the pavement before she is called in by her mother. Moments later, a Hitchcockian violin stab screeches in time to an adult pair of boots splashing violently…
Over the next thirteen weeks, the Friday the 13th franchise will be ripped apart, dissected and, maybe, put back together again by nanites (depending on what century we are in). This is a series of films that has taken the audience on a hell of a ride from the low-fi beginnings at Crystal Lake before…
I love ranking franchises! Even bad franchises. And I think that’s what shocked me the most after my recent watch of the entire Alien franchise: it’s not particularly good. Whereas many of the classic horror franchises I’ve ranked to this point (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play) tend to have a roller coaster like experience…
I’m not crazy, okay? Just… don’t forget that as we go on here. I mean, I’m nuts for Jason Movies, but that’s allowable, right? They are good-to-great movies! Well… okay-to-great. All right, they are sucky-to-great. I know, I know. Jason Goes To Hell still exists. More on that one later, though, because it’s about to…
By 1963, Hammerโs cathedral of Gothic horror stood tall. Dracula had already bared its fangs to the world; Frankenstein had resurrected the flesh of gods; The Phantom of the Opera had mourned beautyโs decay beneath the stage. But now, with The Kiss of the Vampire, Hammer stepped into a new chamber โ one where the…
By 1962, Hammerโs Gothic world had already been soaked in blood and revelation. Dracula and Frankenstein had rewritten the language of British horror; The Curse of the Werewolf had turned that language into lamentation. And then came The Phantom of the Opera โ not a storm of violence, but a sigh. Terence Fisherโs Phantom is the…